A New Hope from Within
by s'no-princess49
Summary: Takes place after Brisingr. The Varden gets word that there is a heir to the king...and that the last dragon egg has hatched. But whose side is the new rider really on? The plot thickens as the battle for Alagaesia continues. Eragon/OC.
1. Prologue

**Funny story about this one. I couldn't find this series in the archive, and because of this, I, being my dumb self, thought that no one had written about this series. Cause I was looking under "Eragon". So I came up with this story just so I could be the first to write the fan-fic in the series. I found out that it's actually under "Inheritance Cycle" so it killed my vibe. But I think I pulled a golden bunny up this time, folks! You see, I'm a femanisit, and I didn't like the lack of strong, heck, ANY female characters in this story (Arya is only main in the story cause she needs to be Eragon's love interest) and I think I may just have invented a character that doesn't borderline on being store bought. Hopefully. I wouldn't know, so I want you to tell me. *HUFF Sorry about that rant there, on with da story!

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A solitary moon beam made its way into the otherwise dark corridor. Two armed soldiers paced the length of the hall, talking little. As one of the men made his way towards the other side of the corridor to complete the circuit, a small ripple-discolouration? passed in front of him. The guard drew his sword, adrenaline pumping as he prepared to fight an attacker and sound the alarm.

"What is it?" the other guard rushed to his partner, drawing his own weapon.

"Nothing," said the man, after a brief pause as he inspected the room again, his eyes lingering on the spot where he had seen the blemish. "My eyes must be playen' tricks on me. Maken' me paranoid. I'm telling you, _this_ is what happens to you when your overworked."

The two men started to bitterly complain about low wages, long hours and the useless and mad king. They were so absorbed in their conversation, they missed the small sigh of relief, and continuing progress marked by a small ripple making its way down the black hall.

A word was breathed out, and a large set of wooden doors clicked open. As the presence made its way inside, the doors shut inaudibly behind. The entire room shimmered with the light and energy that filled the chamber. A set of glove-covered hands suddenly appeared, one holding a large brown sack, and reached out towards the main source of light in the room; a glowing orb. As the hands pressed gently on either side, the orb began to glow profusely. The presence gasped, but did not falter to place it in the sack.

A few moments later, other slightly glowing objects were inserted into the sack. All of this was done in a matter of seconds. And as the presence slipped out from the room and as the doors once again clicked shut, from outside of the sturdy doors, it was impossible to tell anything had just occured.

Quickly, the presence escaped from the hall by silently jumping from a conveniently open window, landing softly. The presence stole away from the outside of the castle, moving so fast and with such silence it seemed as though it had no more body than a shadow, to a groove of trees several leagues away. Then, slowly, she threw back her hood.

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"Lady Nasuada! I am so sorry to interrupt, but we have just received important news concerning the Empire."

As Nasuada lifted her head from her paperwork, she could see the excitement mixed with anxiety depicted on the youth's face. It must be important; important enough for the messenger to barge in unrequested.

"Precede with your report, Floworn," she responded, her tone professional.

Floworn swallowed, and then blurted out, "Galbatorix has a daughter!"

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**So you know the deal: read, review, and I'll give you cookies! And they may or may not have pieces of my plot bunny in them, if I loose inspiration and get very irritated with said bunny. 'Nuh said.**


	2. Welcome to the Team

**Sorry about not updating sooner, I was in Austria (god, SO pretty there!!) and I wrote this chapter. Then, when I came back, I sprained my ankle, which really sucked, but it gave me time to read what I had written, and I realized it was crap. Like, total crap. So, I rewrote it, and made it nice and long for you guys. Hope you like it!**

**The "theme song" (the song I use for inspiration) is Bring me to Life by Evanescence. I think it really embodies what atmosphere and theme this story is about.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Inheritance Cycle, but you can give me credit for anything you don't reconize from the series.**

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Karina gazed in wonder as her dragon flew high in the bright sky, momentarily blotting out the sun. Five months had past since she had escaped from Urû'baen, five months since she had stolen many of her father's captured heart-of-hearts, five months since Bridaun had hatched for her. As Bridaun circled around and under trees, practicing his aerial abilities, Karina pulled out the cloak that had allowed her to do it all.

It had been made for her by her mother, and given to her when she was only five, one year before her mother had been killed by her husband, who had grown tired of his mistress. When Karina was seven, she discovered that the cloak would conceal her if she was fully wrapped in it, as it would change to match the surface directly behind it, similar to a chameleon. It could not render the user completely invisible; however, as the light did not bend perfectly around the cloak, creating a "Water Drop" effect that could be seen. As the cloak had been granted these abilities by sheer love, it was impossible to sense, letting her wander around the castle almost completely undetectable.

When she was twelve, she was strolling around the castle one night with her cloak slung over her; as she was forbidden from taking any walks unaccompanied, she felt her father would be far from impressed if she was found. Karina was passing her father's conference room door, when she heard her father's voice screaming out from inside.

"They're all traitors! Burn them at stake and bury their ashes with dung!"

From that moment on, she kept an ear open, trying to find out what was happening from outside of her prison's walls. From that one sentence, she guessed things were not all her charismatic father had revealed, which was correct. She learned that her father was actually a "mad king", and was trying to be overthrown by a rebel group known as the Varden. They had left their hideout in the Dwarf Mountains, after being attacked by a group of Urgals, on her father's command, and were now attacking the king's cities one by one, attempting to make their way over to this castle. She heard about another dragon rider, but this one was pure, kind and good, worked for the Varden on his own free will and was not bound by any oaths. She learned that her father had captured, in essence, the souls of countless dragons, and had harnessed them to give him the extreme power he now possessed. The more she learned, the more she found out that the father who was so charismatic that she had been weary of him from the beginning, was actually the most evil villain in all of Alagaësia, and that she, as his daughter, would do everything in her power to stop him.

_Hey, Karina__! Look at this! _Bridaun recaptured her attention, then proceeded to wag his tail, and in connection, his rear end, in her face. She stifled back laughter, and pretended to be offended.

_You__ dare? I shall have my revenge! _She promptly picked up a pile of acorns and threw them one by one at her hyperactive dragon…and missed all except one which hit the dragon right on his tail. Bridaun turned around, and gave her a glare that looked so human that Karina promptly burst out laughing. After a few minutes of side-splitting laughter on both sides of the bond, she looked back up at the sky…to see a small dark dot quickly getting bigger that she recognised as a dragon and its rider.

_Bridaun, we have to hide! Rider, coming this way!_she hissed though their mind bond, conveying the picture of the rapidly growing dot. The emerald dragon dove from the sky, and swooped under a tree. The scarce foliage did little to cover her partner, so, in one quick motion, she threw her cloak on Bridaun's back, only his sides sticking out. She sprinted over to the fire in the middle of the clearing, muttering curses under her breath. It was Murtaugh, she was sure. Her father never exited the castle, but even the red dragon and his partner for life were much more than a match for her. She would rather die than go back to that place.

"That son of a bi-BRISINGR!" she shouted when she got to the fire, then she froze when she heard her voice reverberate throughout the entire clearing.

She dashed as fast as she could to where Bridaun had been…then froze as she saw that her dragon was sitting in plain sight in the middle of the clearing…and that he wasn't wearing the cloak.

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Eragon sighed, troubled. Soon after Nasuada had informed him of Galbatorix's daughter, word had arrived that the final dragon egg had hatched. The Varden were devastated; what use was one dragon rider against three others? However, nobody was worse off than Saphira, as she now knew that if she was to ever have a mate, she would have to be in Galbatorix's control. As Nasuada did not have any urgent need of her liege and his dragon, the two of them had been flying around Alagasia for a few days, pondering their next step. Depressed, Eragon leaned against Saphira's neck, rubbing her glittering scales subconsciously.

He had been letting his mind wander, his mental probes drifting over the forests, as he used to do with *Ormis. With no barriers, his mind was sensing the life of plants up to ten leagues away with no resistance, until he hit a wall. A fucking shielded mind in the middle of nowhere! He slammed his barriers up, closing out even Saphira, drawing his sword from its sheath, his hawk-like eyes piercing, searching for that hidden presence. What he saw was a small figure and a larger creature flying around in the sky, the figure throwing small objects at the creature. Saphira shot forward without his bidding towards the figures that were almost certainly Galbatorix's daughter and her dragon. As he drew closer, he saw that he had been noticed by the girl, and down in the clearing, things were hectic. A blanket was thrown over the dragon, who had circled down from the sky, and suddenly, all you could see was the dragon's shimmering, bright emerald sides. The girl, obviously thinking that the dragon was safe, sprinted away to the other side of the clearing where a fire was lit. Eragon was now close enough to hear her mutter, "Thatsonofabi-" then she cut herself off to yell, "BRISINGR!"

The sheer volume of the cry had startled Eragon, and he was half-expecting to have a huge ball of fire blow into him, therefore it amused him to no end that all had happened was that the fire had gone out. Saphira was snorting with laughter, and Eragon was trying to keep himself from following her example as the dragon threw off the blanket, and padded over to the middle of the clearing, in plain sight. With his enhanced eye-sight, he was able to make out the look of complete shock on the rider's face as she saw where her dragon was. Priceless. By then, Eragon let out a small bubble of mirth, just _looking_ at the uselessness of the pair. He composed himself, remembering that, if they were indeed the spawn of the evil king, she was most likely not all that she appeared.

Saphira landed, and the instant before she made contact with the ground, Eragon lept off her, propelling himself sword-first towards the breast of the girl. He was moving so fast, using Saphira's speed to his advantage, that he knew he was only a blur to the regular human eye. He prepared himself for the spurt of blood that would erupt from her chest when the elf-sword made contact…and Brisngr hit steel. Eyes widening in shock, his deep blue eyes meet emerald pools, narrowed in determination.

Anger penetrated his thoughts as he drove his sword forward once more, his burning blue blade moving at the speed and force that only elves possessed. Once more, he found his attempt blocked. He jumped back, to reassess the situation. How was it possible for this young girl to move with such speed and strength? She was highly skilled, possibly more than himself. He was just about to commence another barrage when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"So, you going to get on with it, Murtagh?" she snarled, her features twisted in disgust. Eragon recoiled in shock. Why on earth would she think that he was Murtagh, and why would she speak her ally's name with such venom? Without giving him time to respond, she ploughed on.

"Cleaver thinking, disguising yourself. You figured since I turned traitor, I would come to the Shadeslayer with open arms, didn't you? Well HA! I mock your sheer ignorance! My _blessed father_," she spat sarcastically, "taught me better than that!"

Complete shock being his only emotion, Eragon did the only thing did the only thing he could to get answers, this response being a reflex action; he pierced her mind. Or at least he attempted to. As it was, he managed to get a wedge in the rider's mental shields before she reacted, constructing her barriers as strong as she could before she realized that the endeavour was futile. Eragon, eagerly pressed, sensing her hesitance, however, the only information he was able to retain was the girl's reaction to sensing his aura was different than anyone she had ever known, so he was most likely Eragon Shadeslayer. Her delight confused and distracted Eragon for the moment necessary for the girl to forcefully remove him from her mind. Glaring at her suspiciously, he reached his mind out to Saphira, about to ask for her input into the troubling matter, when the mysterious person declared flawlessly in the Ancient Language,

"If you are loyal to the Varden, and you seek to overthrow the Empire, Galbatorix and any who are loyal to him, then I mean neither you nor any of your allies any harm."

To say Eragon was shocked was an understatement. He was gobsmacked to such an extent that he actually dropped his guard, and openly gawked at her. However, he realized that she could simply not be revealing the entire truth, just like the elves often did. She could be under oath, and even though she had no urge to slaughter anyone against her father, she could be manipulated to do so, if her true name had been discovered. But she was _so young; _no matter how powerful she was, she could not have been bonded with her dragon more than a few months, and there was more to a fight between two Riders than impressive swordplay. Surly the mad king did not think that this girl, possibly the youngest Rider to have ever existed, could single-handedly take on himself, Saphira, the twelve elf-guards he had assigned to him, and, well, the entire Varden, especially when she was so new to this strange new world?

_Saphira, what do you make of this? _Eragon questioned. He wanted to believe this potential ally so badly, but war had robbed him of his innocence, and now he was not so quick to believe. Was this the truth?

_She speaks the truth, _responded Saphira, her tone clear, without any doubt. Eragon, however, was not yet convinced.

_A-are you sure? _The young rider responded, his voice abnormally shaky, his voice cracking showing just how badly he needed this to be true. He was not trying to get his hopes up, but, god, this girl shows up and-and _baits_ him with just what he wanted to hear.

_Little one, are you in the habit of doubting me? _The dragon responded back, her tone amused. None the less, it cut to the point. How could Eragon question his partener of life-and-soul? So, his limbs moving almost moving on their own accord, he sheathed his sword, stuck out his hand and said,

"I'm Eragon Shadeslayer, Bane of the Ra'azac. Welcome to the team."

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**Phew, done this chapter! Also, just for a timeline check, what Karina heard her father yelling is what Galbatorix yelling at Murtagh, which made him leave. I was guessing that that first three books took about 2-3 years, so, I am making Karina 15 years old.**

**Tell me if you like how the plot is unfolding. I have a basic idea of what's going to happen, but I'm very open to suggestions. I won't be able to update for a while because school is starting, but I will eventually.**


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